Super Mario 3D All Stars Review
Super Mario 3D All-Stars Review
Super Mario Party - MojoPlays Review
It’s no secret that 2020 has been a rocky year for many folks, but that isn’t to say there haven’t been any ups whatsoever. While we’ve been stuck inside playing games, revisiting old classics, finding new titles to cherish, and such, we’ve also hit a few anniversaries along the way. For instance, Pac-Man hit 40 in May 2020 and, let’s be real, is prepped for a mid-life crisis. One of the biggest events in gaming this year, however, is Mario’s 35th anniversary, and there’s a lot to celebrate given how big of an icon Mario has become and how this character has shaped the gaming landscape. What better way to look back on the plumber’s career than with a new collection of classic Mario titles? Welcome to MojoPlays, and this is Ty’s review of “Super Mario 3D All-Stars”! Just at the tip of the iceberg, “Super Mario 3D All-Stars” gives you plenty of reason to nab a copy. This collection comes with three widely beloved titles from the past couple decades - “Super Mario 64”, “Super Mario Sunshine”, and “Super Mario Galaxy”, which were respectively released on the Nintendo 64 in 1996, the GameCube in 2002, and the Nintendo Wii in 2007. All three were practically universally acclaimed when they launched and still retain massive followings to this day. However, there’s one key difference between this collection and their original releases - they’re on the Nintendo Switch. Sounds great on paper, what with the console’s portability and flexible control schemes. Unfortunately, not every game benefits from this time capsule title, and to show that, I went back and played through the same levels in the original games to compare them with “3D All-Stars”. “Super Mario 64” was one of the very first games I played as a kid, and every now and then, I’ll go back to it for an hour or two. What was astounding to me was the level design and how each world featured different missions consisting of puzzles, platforming, coin-collecting, and finding secret areas. Although, the biggest feature to me was how Mario controlled. There have been many times where I’d simply run around Peach’s castle, jump off walls, kick paintings, and flip around in rooms whenever I damn well pleased. It felt THAT good to control Mario. Of course, like most of you, I’ve always wanted to see this with improved visuals and the same fluid movement. Let’s just rip this band-aid off now - “Super Mario 64” isn’t the greatest to look at on Switch. Experiencing it on a new console with upscaled resolution is like going to Disney World as an adult - you start seeing things on your favorite rides that you never noticed when you were a kid. You notice the nuts and bolts, things controlling the animatronics and set pieces. The only difference between the two is that Disney World is still pretty and improves itself over time. “Super Mario 64”, on the other hand, shows its age. Mario still controls fine (even with the occasional Joy-Cond drift), but there are all sorts of edges in the environment that are way more noticeable than they were before. Honestly, there are a few times where it gets distracting like when you scale the mountain in Bob-Omb Battlefield. On top of that, Mario’s model swap is more glaring, creating this awkward transition from a round and hefty Mario to a Mario made of children’s building blocks. Yes, the game is still fun to play, and if you’re an aspiring developer, you may appreciate these exposed cogs. For others, they may be details you can’t unsee, and because of that, some of the game’s original charm is lost. Also, why is this game NOT at 16:9 screen ratio? While “Super Mario 64” was a mixed bag - albeit one that was still fun to play, “Super Mario Sunshine” was a pretty big letdown. “Sunshine”, for me, was a solid game despite its departure from not just the Mushroom Kingdom, but standard Mario mechanics. You aren’t just “wahoo-ing” and “yippee-ing” all over the place; now, you’re making use of your trusty F.L.U.D.D. backpack to spray water on enemies, cleaning paint off the environment, and even manipulating the state of characters and items. Needless to say, it was a refreshing adventure and has gained a massive (and frankly, quite vocal) following. Of the games included in “3D All-Stars”, it disappoints me to see that “Sunshine” has made the worst transition. While the upscaled resolution has allowed the visuals to shine brighter than ever (no pun intended), “Sunshine” on the Switch is the most frustrating experience I’ve had with a Mario game, and the worst part about it is that it isn’t “Sunshine’s” fault - it’s the Switch’s. The problem between “Sunshine” on Switch and “Sunshine” on GameCube is the time gap between controllers, specifically the analog stick. Because the Switch has such tightened movement and sensitivity, it’s virtually impossible to make Mario tiptoe let alone turn him around normally instead of skidding. This made a handful of missions absolutely aggravating to finish, specifically the Hotel Lobby’s Secret and the Mirror Madness missions. Just for reference, I went back and played the same aforementioned missions on GameCube and had no trouble. What the GameCube version gives players is room for finesse - there’s more room to control Mario’s speed and jumps. On Switch, a slight tilt of the analog will send him dashing off the nearest cliff! That being said, if you plan to 100% “Super Mario Sunshine” in this collection, I hope you have a patient mind or have mastered total control over the Joy-Cons because you’re going to need it. Lastly, we have “Super Mario Galaxy”, a game that captured our imagination with its epic narrative, breathtaking visuals, and creative worlds. As one of the best-selling Wii games and having sold more than twelve million copies, it was hard to find someone who DIDN’T experience this game! So, how exactly does it look on Switch? Well, here’s the reveal! There’s no doubt that “Super Mario Galaxy” benefited most from the transition to Switch! No longer encased in the mystical fog of 480p, players can now enjoy and re-experience “Super Mario Galaxy” in glorious HD, and the results are incredible. The visuals stand out more, controlling Mario feels like “Galaxy” was destined for Switch, and shockingly, the motion controls were actually fun to use! “Galaxy” in its original form felt slower to play as it was hard to move around and collect Star Bits with the cursor simultaneously. It also doesn’t help that the Wii’s motion controls aren’t as accurate as the Switch’s (which makes sense given the consoles are two generations apart). However, the “3D All-Stars” version has you moving the cursor with a single controller, allowing for more accurate motion and continuous movement. As someone who loves “Super Mario 64” more than the other two, I actually found myself booting up “Galaxy” more often. I loved the original during the Wii’s infancy, but playing “Galaxy” on this collection made it feel like I was playing a completely different game. So, the question remains - is “Super Mario 3D All-Stars” worth the price of admission? Admittedly, sixty dollars is pushing it a bit. “Super Mario 64” doesn’t look the best it could be, and “Sunshine” deserved better controls than what the Switch allows. “Galaxy” is, really, the only game in the collection that didn’t suffer any setbacks, at least none that crossed my radar. To me, this collection should have been a little more generous and put on a forty-dollar price tag rather than sixty. It’s also worth noting that this collection is a timed-release, which confuses the hell out of me as this could not only make money over a longer period of time, but also be another way to preserve classic games. You don’t see Namco, Capcom, or even Konami doing that! Overall, “3D All-Stars” is an okay collection, and the ones who are going to get the most enjoyment out of it are the ones who have played or are familiar with the originals.
